Top H.S. teams from the 2015-16 season
Another school year has come to a close, and plenty of West Tennessee teams advanced to their respective state tournaments and performed well.
Three teams – University School of Jackson boys tennis, Hardin County girls bowling and Scotts Hill baseball – won state championships.
Soon the 2016-17 season will be looked at for fall sports, but first, let’s look at who we think were the top teams in West Tennessee among all sports:
1Gibson County girls basketball – The Lady Pioneers (37-1) played lots of talented teams from West Tennessee and across the state, and they ended the regular season with an undefeated record.
Gibson County went on to win the District 14-A and Region 7-A finals on the way to reaching the state tournament.
In Murfreesboro, the Lady Pioneers beat Van Buren County in overtime and Middleton in a battle of unbeatens before losing to South Greene in the title game.
Gibson Co falls short in title game against S. Greene
2Liberty football – The Crusaders exceeded expectations, going 13-1 and reaching the Class 3A state semifinals.
Tyler Turner kept Liberty playing at a high level in his first season with the program.
The Crusaders won the region title before beating Raleigh-Egypt, Melrose and Milan to reach the semifinals.
Liberty takes first and only loss
3Hardin County girls bowling – For the third straight season, the Lady Tigers (18-0) brought home a state championship.
Hardin County beat undefeated Dobyns Bennett and undefeated Hardin Valley in the first two rounds of the state tournament before knocking off White House in the state title match.
Junior Ashley Channell also won the individual state championship for the third straight season.
Hardin County girls win 3rd straight bowling title
4USJ boys tennis – The Bruins overcame their best adversary from the past couple of years and beat Knoxville Webb to win the Division II-A state championship.
USJ was led by junior Cade Reasons along with seniors George and Paul Markos.
The Bruins dominated Battle Ground Academy in sub-state before beating University School of Nashville and Knoxville Webb at state.
USJ boys tennis wins state title
5Westview boys basketball – The Chargers (27-4) played three of the toughest opponents in the state in the region tournament and sectionals to reach the Class AA state tournament.
Westview lost to Whites Creek in the state quarterfinals, but the wins over South Side, Fayette-Ware and Ripley defined this team’s season.
The Chargers won the District 13-AA and Region 7-AA titles.
Westview plays 1st state tourney game on Thursday
6Middleton girls basketball – The Lady Tigers were on a 67-game winning streak entering semifinals of the Class A state tournament.
Middleton lost to Gibson County in the semifinals to end the season.
The Lady Tigers were the defending Class A state champions and won the District 15-A and Region 8-A titles on the way to earning a spot in the state tournament.
7Westview girls basketball – With a put-back jumper by Deja Graves, the Lady Chargers (32-3) ended the undefeated season of Elizabethton in the Class AA quarterfinals.
Westview reached the state semifinals before losing to East Nashville.
The two regular season losses came against Gibson County and Dyer County as the Lady Chargers went on to win the District 13-AA and Region 7-AA titles.
8Scotts Hill baseball – The Lions (26-11) won the school’s first-ever state championship with an 8-3 victory over Knoxville Grace in the Class A state championship game.
After finishing fourth in District 15-A during the regular season, Scotts Hill finished runner-up in the District 15-A and Region 8-A tournaments before advancing to the state tournament.
9Peabody football – After going 8-2 through the regular season, the Golden Tide avenged both of those losses in the postseason to reach the Class 1A state semifinals.
After an opening win over KIPP Academy, Peabody ended the winning streak of Union City and upset Dresden for three postseason victories.
10USJ baseball – With the pitching trio of Ryan Rolison, Alex Garrett and Seth Rohlwing, the Bruins were dominant through the regular season.
But they suffered through a slump in the postseason that they couldn’t overcome. USJ lost twice in a sub-state series against Davidson Academy to fall short of a state tournament appearance.
11Dresden football – The Lions’ lone loss in the regular season was to Union City, and they advanced to the Class 1A quarterfinals before falling to Peabody.
Wins over Middle College and Carver put Dresden into the state quarterfinals.
12USJ softball – For the sixth time in the last seven years, the Lady Bruins (30-8-1) advanced to the Division II-A state tournament.
USJ won the West region title 10-0 over Fayette Academy and swept Donelson Christian Academy to reach the state tournament, where the Lady Bruins finished third.
13Haywood girls basketball – The Lady Tomcats (28-5) had Upperman on the ropes in the Class AA quarterfinals before losing with a bad fourth quarter.
Haywood’s four losses all came early in the season, and the team went undefeated through the second half of the season before the loss in the state tournament.
Haywood won the District 15-AA and Region 8-AA titles.
14Jackson Christian baseball – The Eagles (31-14) were the top Class A team in West Tennessee throughout the regular season, and they went on to win the District 15-A and Region 8-A titles before advancing to the state tournament.
Jackson Christian couldn’t overcome Knoxville Grace, losing to them twice, to finish in the top four of the state.
15USJ girls soccer – The Lady Bruins (17-4) continued their high standards with another berth into the Division II-A state semifinals.
USJ won the region championship before defeating University School of Nashville in sub-state to reach the state tournament.
Michael Odom, 425-9754